Weekend Recap: August 28 - 29

MOTOGP

The Monster Energy British Grand Prix ran yesterday at the 3.666-mile, 18-turn Silverstone Circuit where in front of 65,000 cheering fans it was the effort of Fabio Quartararo of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP racing to a convincing victory. The Frenchman now holds an amazing 65-point lead in the race for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship. Alex Rins of Team Suzuki Ecstar raced to a runner-up finish at Silverstone.

NASCAR

Big news for NASCAR fans! On Friday, 23XI Racing announced that Kurt Busch will join the organization to pilot the No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry car beginning with the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. The 43-year-old NASCAR icon is joining the inclusive race team co-founded by basketball icon Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin in 2020. As a core principle of its founding, 23XI is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion by driving positive change across the world of sports, starting within motorsports. The team was first announced in September 2020 with Bubba Wallace, the face of social change in NASCAR, as the key driver.

FORMULA 1

The 2021 Formula 1 Grand Prix de Belgique was set for the 4.352-mile, 20-turn Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on Sunday, however, torrential rain lashed the circuit that has hosted a Grand Prix since 1925. The race had been initially delayed more than three hours and despite the conditions having not improved, the FIA declared the race could begin. After only three laps led by the safety car, the red flag was thrown, and Max Verstappen was declared the race winner. Many are calling for rule changes as there were no competitive racing laps run during the GP with the finishing order mirroring the qualifying placement. Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W12 E Performance placed third on what was a rain-lashed afternoon, the Englishman now holding down a five-point lead in the fight for the 2021 F1 World Championship. Formula 1 will next venture to the 2.646-mile, 14-turn Circuit Zandvoort circuit near the North Sea coastline and sand dunes of Zandvoort, Holland.

MMA

Monster Energy’s Giga Chikadze recorded a spectacular technical knockout victory over Edson Barboza at UFC Vegas 35 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday night. In the featherweight division’s main event, the 33-year-old from Tbilisi, Georgia, stopped his opponent with punches at 1:44 minutes of Round 3. Chikadze also earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, his third consecutive UFC knockout, and post-fight bonus.

SKATEBOARD

Way to start the SLS season with a bang! Monster Energy team rider Rayssa Leal claimed first place in Stop One of the 2021 Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday. In front of a high-energy crowd, the 13-year-old from Imperatriz, Brazil, took the win and $20,000 in prize money in the down-to-the-wire Women’s Skateboard Street final.

In the Men’s Skateboard Street final, Monster Energy rider and current SLS World Champion Nyjah Huston took second place. Battling the world’s best street skateboarders, the 26-year-old from Laguna Beach, California, finished closely behind Portugal’s Gustavo Ribeiro.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

What a weekend on the Black Snake! Monster Energy’s Marine Cabirou took second place in the Elite Women’s division at the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy this weekend. On the demanding track in the Italian Alps, the 24-year-old from Millau, France earned a strong second-place finish with a 4:11.070 total time. Cabirou was joined on the podium by her Monster Energy teammate, 31-year-old Camille Balanche from La Chaux-de-Fond, Switzerland, in third place with a 4:12.342 finish time. Also claiming a podium spot at the World Championships, 28-year-old Troy Brosnan from Adelaide, Australia, took third place in the Elite Men division. His final time of 3:29.404 was only 0.441 seconds behind the winner in an ultra-tight race.